Experience update

MidnightCowboy · 07. Sep 2019, 09:15 AM

Having become more physically involved with the local Linux community here this is what I’ve concluded after almost a year of installations onto different hardware.

If you want something that performs equally well on UEFI and legacy hardware, never breaks and provides even fully working widgets out of the box with no dependency issues then ROSA Fresh R11 is the best choice. Just be prepared for a long initial update because their ISO’s are not so and the download speed is pretty slow. Other good KDE choices are Neptune and Kubuntu (LTS).

Next, and never thought I’d say this about Gnome 3, but Zorin 15 Core is popular for good reason and it’s really a great platform. So much so I’ve ended up with this as my daily desktop driver.

Last, among the pile of other desktop environments that no one needs is one that’s worthy, Ubuntu Budgie (LTS) and a better choice than Solus.

Installations that have given the most issues are all Arch based including Manjaro, Condress and BlueStar. Only run with these if you’re competent and capable of forum surfing to fix breakages.

Haven't included any of the stale but competent Xfce distros because no one here seems to stick with them for very long.

Finally Deepin is great if it wasn't for the bugs. Considering the proliferation of software coming out of China they really should be able to do better with this.

danielson · 07. Sep 2019, 01:52 PM

Agree on Arch observations.
CondresOS is a nice (but bloated) enhancement to it.
Unfortunately, the minimal installation .iso may be too complicated for a Linux newbie.

Zorin?
Other than the fact that the name sounds like some kind of pharmaceutical pill, it can't deliver a decent job on the settings for my external monitor (as other distros usually do). That is a must for me since my eyes depend on that bigger monitor.

Neptune?
Did it change name again?
Not even on Distrowatch top list.

Back to Q4OS to satisfy my KDE quench.

MidnightCowboy · 07. Sep 2019, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielson

Neptune?
Did it change name again?
Not even on Distrowatch top list.

Neptune is a German based distro (3 man dev team) and been around for more years than most. Originally part of the Zeven OS duo, Neptune being the KDE version and this continued as their main focus after the final 6.0 release of Zeven OS a few years back.

Distrowatch rankings mean absolutely zero in terms of potential suitability and a lot of them are artifically manipulated anyway.

danielson · 07. Sep 2019, 07:12 PM

Took me a while to find NeptuneOS website but it was well worth the effort!

A pleasant OS for sure!

Thanks again for your patience MC!
For a fellow in his last stretch... you have quite a bit to give still!

- - - - -

Seems like everything is back to normal at the forum here.

danielson · 08. Sep 2019, 01:27 AM

NeptuneOS is a pleasant discovery for me.

Eye pleasing, full of good pre-loaded apps (no duplicates in function as far as i can see).
It even has grub-customizer pre-loaded!
Had installed it in CondresOS and it never worked.
But with all this eye-candy, i might not even want to use it.

Boots up much faster than CondresOS (which was supposed to be a fast trimmed ARCH based).

NeptuneOS might very well be the deal breaker for a complete plunge into Linux.

MidnightCowboy · 08. Sep 2019, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielson

NeptuneOS might very well be the deal breaker for a complete plunge into Linux.

Unlike a lot of other distros a great deal of attention is paid to detail in Neptune before stuff is released making it well produced and very solid. The only one annoying factor I experienced was my wifi connection which would cycle for some time before actually connecting. This though was hardware specific so depending on what card or dongle someone else uses might not be an issue.

Overall though I still prefer ROSA although R11 is based on the 2016 release hence the amount of updates needed. If their new 2019 release is as good (when it's ready) I'll definitely use it. I also like that they release separate ISO's for UEFI and legacy systems so there's rarely any Grub issues.

The two positive reviews here reflect my own feelings.

https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=rosa

danielson · 08. Sep 2019, 02:09 PM

NeptuneOS sure is refined!

Not familiar with Mandriva or distros based on it.

- - - - -
One thing kind of irates me with LibreOffice Calc.
Have an Excel Macro file someone made for me.
Calc will never import it properly even if security on macros is taken off.
Funny thing, Google Sheets doesn't say a word and imports everything just fine.
Outlook online won't even look at it!
So, go figure!

- - - - - -

Btw, still have to sign in twice here.

danielson · 09. Sep 2019, 01:10 AM

Btw, excuse me for digressing - have exported said file to excel format then imported to Libre Calc - much better but not as good as what Google sheets can do.

- - - - -

Keep us informed on latest Rosa!

MidnightCowboy · 09. Sep 2019, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielson

Keep us informed on latest Rosa!

Will do....

07. Sep 2019, 09:15 AM	#1 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 15,278	Experience update Having become more physically involved with the local Linux community here this is what I’ve concluded after almost a year of installations onto different hardware. If you want something that performs equally well on UEFI and legacy hardware, never breaks and provides even fully working widgets out of the box with no dependency issues then ROSA Fresh R11 is the best choice. Just be prepared for a long initial update because their ISO’s are not so and the download speed is pretty slow. Other good KDE choices are Neptune and Kubuntu (LTS). Next, and never thought I’d say this about Gnome 3, but Zorin 15 Core is popular for good reason and it’s really a great platform. So much so I’ve ended up with this as my daily desktop driver. Last, among the pile of other desktop environments that no one needs is one that’s worthy, Ubuntu Budgie (LTS) and a better choice than Solus. Installations that have given the most issues are all Arch based including Manjaro, Condress and BlueStar. Only run with these if you’re competent and capable of forum surfing to fix breakages. Haven't included any of the stale but competent Xfce distros because no one here seems to stick with them for very long. Finally Deepin is great if it wasn't for the bugs. Considering the proliferation of software coming out of China they really should be able to do better with this. __________________ Buy a Hoover and prove technology sucks.

08. Sep 2019, 01:27 AM	#5 (permalink)
danielson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,154	NeptuneOS is a pleasant discovery for me. Eye pleasing, full of good pre-loaded apps (no duplicates in function as far as i can see). It even has grub-customizer pre-loaded! Had installed it in CondresOS and it never worked. But with all this eye-candy, i might not even want to use it. Boots up much faster than CondresOS (which was supposed to be a fast trimmed ARCH based). NeptuneOS might very well be the deal breaker for a complete plunge into Linux. Last edited by danielson; 08. Sep 2019 at 01:28 AM. Reason: correction

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07. Sep 2019, 01:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
danielson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,154	Agree on Arch observations. CondresOS is a nice (but bloated) enhancement to it. Unfortunately, the minimal installation .iso may be too complicated for a Linux newbie. Zorin? Other than the fact that the name sounds like some kind of pharmaceutical pill, it can't deliver a decent job on the settings for my external monitor (as other distros usually do). That is a must for me since my eyes depend on that bigger monitor. Neptune? Did it change name again? Not even on Distrowatch top list. Back to Q4OS to satisfy my KDE quench.

07. Sep 2019, 07:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
danielson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,154	Took me a while to find NeptuneOS website but it was well worth the effort! A pleasant OS for sure! Thanks again for your patience MC! For a fellow in his last stretch... you have quite a bit to give still! - - - - - Seems like everything is back to normal at the forum here.

08. Sep 2019, 02:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
danielson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,154	NeptuneOS sure is refined! Not familiar with Mandriva or distros based on it. - - - - - One thing kind of irates me with LibreOffice Calc. Have an Excel Macro file someone made for me. Calc will never import it properly even if security on macros is taken off. Funny thing, Google Sheets doesn't say a word and imports everything just fine. Outlook online won't even look at it! So, go figure! - - - - - - Btw, still have to sign in twice here.

09. Sep 2019, 01:10 AM	#8 (permalink)
danielson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Posts: 1,154	Btw, excuse me for digressing - have exported said file to excel format then imported to Libre Calc - much better but not as good as what Google sheets can do. - - - - - Keep us informed on latest Rosa!